More than a million dollars in cocaine and related substances have been seized from two homes in Edmonton, police say.
The June 8 seizure included 11 kilograms of cocaine, 84 kilograms of a cocaine buffing agent called phenacetin, slightly less than a kilo of ketamine and $15,465 in cash, according to a Thursday news release from Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT).
The total value of the drugs seized is estimated at $1.4 million, police say.
Police didn’t specify where the homes were located. However, they identified an apartment in the Pembina neighbourhood, located in northwest Edmonton, that was used to package and press the cocaine.
This seizure of phenacetin, which has been banned in Canada since 1973 due to its carcinogenic and kidney-damaging properties, is one of the largest ever in Alberta, police say. It is used to dilute the purity of the cocaine to maximize profits.
The operation was conducted by ALERT’s organized crime team, with support from Edmonton city police and Alberta sherriffs.
A 26-year-old man has been charged with drug possession for the purpose of trafficking and possession of proceeds of crime. According to the news release, the man was known to ALERT, having been observed in previous investigations.